Torsion bar change

[scooba_285]

changing torsion bars

just wondering how you get the old ones out and the new ones in? any chance of some pics and info? i did a search and found nothing and the service manual download doesn't work. i got hd ironman bars with the lift kit, but first just tried winding the stock ones up but their to "sloppy" being i have a steel bulbar, dual batteries etc....
cheers

 

[Lasoya]

undo the to bolts to make them lose, slide them back till it pops off the front then pull back forward, sometimes they can be very tough to get out

 

[scooba_285]

undo the to bolts to make them lose, slide them back till it pops off the front then pull back forward, sometimes they can be very tough to get out

would you be able to explain which bolts ¿

 

[sparra04]

i would also like some info on this subject as i will be changing mine soon

 

[Pix]

I'll keep checking in with great interest... some futher information would be handy

 

[superiorcruiser]

the bolts at the back of the torsion bars..i think there are instructions in the new kit or there is a thred here on how to do it..
i changed mine with ironman ones and i never done it b4,but once you start it becomes obvious what needs to be done...
i had one side that was hard to remove as the spline at the front got crossed and jammed...nothing a hammer couldnt fix.

 

[sparra04]

i copied this from the 2008 d22 service manual
i downloaded it this morning so link still works ok
scooba send me a pm with your email and ile send service manual to you if you like
Torsion Bar Spring
REMOVAL
1. Move dust cover.
2. Paint matching marks on the torsion bar spring and the corresponding
arm.
Always use paint to place the matching mark; do not scribe the
affected parts.
3. Measure anchor bolt protrusion “L” and remove the lock nut and
adjusting nut.
Before removing the nuts, ensure that twisting force is eliminated
from the torsion bar springs.
4. Detach snap ring from anchor arm.
I Pull out anchor arm rearward, then withdraw torsion bar spring
rearward. — 2WD —
I Remove torque arm. — 2WD —
I Remove torque arm fixing nuts, then withdraw torsion bar
spring forward with torque arm. — 4WD —

 

[tommy222220_0]

Thats pretty much it sparra04.
Jack wheel up. Remove circlip and torsion adjuster bolt. Slide adjuster out rearwards and then loosen 3 nuts on lower control arm and try to remove torsion rearward. Will need a soak with WD40 to help you get it out.

 

[Flynndog]

I had this same drama but here it is in laymans (my terms):

1. Get under your vehilce and follow the torsion bar to the end (towards rear of vehicle).
2. Where the TB locates to the chassis is the Anchor Arm. Using two spanners/socket (19mm I think), you need to loosen the lock nut that holds the anchor arm in. It is the long one protruding up.
3. Once the lock nut is off/loose, remove the bolt by winding lots. The anchor arm should fall down a fair bit.
4. This will loosen the bar so that it should be able to be pulled out of the front anchor point. Watch your head. It hurts.
5. Re-assembly is the opposite, IAW with the instructions for your Ironman bar.

I have pics of my removal but I can't post today. Could email the manual if you need it, just PM me.

Flynny

 

[mitch92]

Hopefully will be going through this process myself in a few weeks time so good info to know.

Mitch

 

[D22uteCBR]

Sorry to pull up a month old thread, but I wanted to add my experience in with adjusting the torsion bars on my 2001 D22, as no one has mentioned the possible danger with doing this!

I put some 45mm rear leaf springs in the rear and decided to wind the torsion bars up as I did not want stiffer front suspension, and had read many posts about it being no problem for around a 40mm lift. My front end had sagged, so I needed to move the bars two splines around to get the lift. Drivers side had popped out of the adjusting bracket and the retaining circlip had managed to pull through the hole, so that was probem number one. After getting that sorted, I rotated the bar, then adjusted up to what I estimated was right (this done with side jacked up and a stand under her, so full droop on the front.

Dropped it down, feeling good about it all as the front drivers was much more in line with the rear lift.

Moved onto passenger side, jacked it up so wheel was at full droop, got bar off OK, rotated the spline, started to wind up the adjuster, got nearly to the tension of the other side and BANG, the bolt broke. I didn't know that at the time, all I knew was my hand was thrown to the floor with decent force, and my ratchet ended up halfway over the other side of the garage floor.

So as a word of caution, these bolts can snap, and the unleashed force of the wound up bar is significant (still have brusing to prove it)

I have now bought some replacement high tensile bolts, and when adjusting up will have the vehicle jack underneath the adjuster arm, just in case it lets go again.

Hope this avoids someone else injuring themselves, sorry for the long winded post!

Cheers,

 

[tommy222220_0]

Not good.

My torsion bolts where almost frozen solid with mud and dirt. I would recomend removing the nuts and bolts from the torsion adjuster. Clean and install with some grease. It will ease the pressure on the bolts.

 

[D22uteCBR]

I also think that maybe it is better to wind the nut from the top, and hold the bottom. Thats just my theory though and someone with an engineering background probably knows if this is less srain on the bolt or not.
It is however how I do up all other nuts/bolts... so probably should have done it here.

Or maybe I just got a fatigued bolt, and there is no more to it. No one else seems to have snapped them on D22's, but I did a google and it does not seem uncommon on some jeeps and Toyota Surfs (but they spring up the other way towards the floor of the car, and apparently is common for the force to punch trough the floor!).

Also the guy at specialty fasteners that sold me the replacement bolts recognised it instantly as a torsion adjuster bolt. Not the first ones hes sold.

 

[charlie strayarc]

I have just changed my torsion bars for thicker after market ones on account of winch and steel bull bar make over for the front of my nav,heres how I did it.

I jacked up one side with hi lift and took the weight of lower control arm with a trolley jack. I left the wheel on.

I marked where the adjusting bracket sat in relation to crossmember(not real important) and removed lock nut from adjusting bolt. (after spraying with wd40)

 

[charlie strayarc]

I then removed adjusting bolt completely

The first photo below is of breaker bar on adjusting bolt and should be in this post.

 

[charlie strayarc]

at the front of adjusting bracket is a rubber boot,slide it forward and remove circlip. I used two flat head screw drivers on ends of clip to push up until I could get a screwdriver under neath clip and prise off

 

[charlie strayarc]

I then loosened the 3 bolts at the housing plate on the other end of bar.
After loosening these 3, I removed bar towards rear of vehicle with a few gentle taps of a plastic hammer

 

[charlie strayarc]

heres the old and new side by side.
new one is 2mm thicker than nissan one.

 

[charlie strayarc]

when installing be sure you have correct side left and right and end for end.
On the end of bar is an arrow indicating direction of rotation as you are winding up bar on adjuster bracket.ie left anti clockwise and right clockwise,here is a really bad photo.

I ran into a bit of trouble here and installed the first one the wrong way around. I got too smart for myself and was using the direction of arrow to indicate rotation of lower control arm. When I removed second one I noticed nissan had arrow opposite to me. I rang zordo for confirmation and must put out a big thankyou to zordo, who was happy to give me advise even though he did not supply parts. He confirmed arrow is for winding up adjuster rotation.

 

[charlie strayarc]

I then installed new one by putting it through crossmember at rear and then inserting into plate at front, I hand tightend front bolts and with a bit of wiggling and swearing got adjuster bracket in and on splines with bolt in, looking like this with no tension on.

Ensure groove of adjuster is sitting "in" crossmember as indicated by arrow.(most important) and dont forget to swap rubber boot over from old to new.